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The
2012 DOMAINFest
Global Conference
is underway. While the official show
opening was this morning (Tuesday, Jan. 31), a
sizeable crowd was already busy networking
in the lobby of the conference hotel - the Fairmont
Miramar in Santa Monica, California -
when we arrived a little before 6pm yesterday
evening. In addition, there were a couple of
major pre-show private events Monday night, one
being a meeting of the Southern
California Domainers Group at the
nearby Shore Hotel that was open to
visitors in town for DOMAINfest. The
other was a thank you dinner that Frank
Schilling's rapidly growing new domain
monetization company, InternetTraffic.com,
hosted for clients and friends at the fabulous Mastro's
Steakhouse in Bevely Hills.
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Scene
from Monday's night InternetTraffic.com
dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly
Hills
(host Frank Schilling, standing at upper
right, is seen welcoming his guests)
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Above
and below: Frank Schilling proposes
a
toast to the success of his
InternetTraffic.com
guests at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly
Hills |
InternetTraffic.com
had motor coaches ferry their guests
across town from the Fairmont to one of
Frank's favorite restaurants in Mastro's.
As a number of commentators mentioned in
our current
Cover Story about the biggest
events of 2011 (and predictions for 2012),
InternetTraffic.com changed the
monetization game overnight by
offering higher PPC payouts to owners of
high quality domain names (the company is
very selective about the portfolios it
accepts).
While the
company began operations fairly quietly,
it is starting to take a higher profile.
At DOMAINfest Global, the hotel room keys
are emblazoned with the
InternetTraffic.com logo and I'm sure you
will hear a lot more about them in 2012. |
This
morning at 9:30 it was time to get down to
business and DOMAINfest Global wasted no time in
doing that, kicking things off with a workshop
on ICANN's new gTLD program that is
finally underway after six years of
debate.
The
New gTLD workshop this morning featured
Neustar's Ken Hansen (standing at
podium)
and (seated left to right) moderator Todd
Greene (Oversee.net), Mason Cole
(5x5
Communications), Juan Diego Calle (CEO,
.CO Internet S.A.S.) and Michele Jourdan
(ICANN). I'll
have details on some of the points made during
this session in a comprehensive conference
review article that we will be publishing a few
days after the show concludes. Considering how
late many were out Monday night, there was a
good crowd on hand for the opening session and it
swelled to near capacity by 11am when Oversee.net
Co-President and Co-CEO Debra Domeyer
(who shares both roles with Scott Morrow)
took the stage to officially welcome guests to
the event staged by Oversee's DomainSponsor
unit.
Above:
A crowd estimated to include approximately 600
people was on hand
for the opening of DOMAINfest Global this
morning in Santa Monica.
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Debra
Domeyer, Oversee.net
Co-President
and Co-CEO welcoming guests to DOMAINfest |
Ms. Domeyer,
already Oversee's Co-President, was just
named Co-CEO on Monday, as was her fellow
Co-President, Scott Morrow, who will be on
stage later this week.
Domeyer spoke
for 30 minutes and gave attendees an
overview of what the conference planners
have in store for attendees this week (in
addition to the glorious weather
that was throughly enjoyed today and is
forecast to stay with us throughout the
conference at the oceanfront show hotel).
She also,
gave her predictions on what she expects
to see in our industry in 2012. You can
read her thoughts on that point (along
with Scott Morrow's) in our annual State
of the Industry Cover Story
that just came out last week. We were
pleased to have Debra and Scott, both
first time contributors to that report,
kick off this year's article that features
13 additional domain industry experts.
Ms. Domeyer
noted that DOMAINfest Global has expanded
beyond being just a show about domains and
is now featuring "Internet
entrepreneurs of all stripes." |
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Eli
Goodman comscore) speaking
about social networking this morning |
Domeyer's
point was illustrated in the next session
when Eli Goodman, Search Evangelist
at comscore, returned from last
year's well received speech to deliver an
update on Internet Vital Signs.
Rather than domains, Goodman's talk,
titled "Its a Social World,"
covered the top 10 things you need to know
about social networking.
Many domain
owners are expanding beyond simple
monetization techniques like parking in an
attempt to unlock the full potential of
their domains. Knowing what is happening
on the Internet at large is certainly
useful to those who are developing their
properties and want to attract the largest
possible audience by incorporating the
latest trends and technology in their
projects. DOMAINFest Global is positioning
itself as the conference that supplies
that cutting edge information. |
After
Goodman's session, DOMAINfest Global took full
advantage of the spectacular Southern California
weather by serving an outdoor lunch underneath
the majestic fig tree that graces the Fairmont
Miramar's front drive.
Tuesday's
luncheon under the fig tree at the Fairmont
Miramar The
afternoon session began with a panel discussion
about Mobile and Local Opportunities for
Publishers and Advertisers that featured (left
to right in the photo below) Greg Sterling
(Contributing Editor, Search Engine Land), Eli
Portnoy (CEO, ThinkNear) and Bryson
Meunier (Director of Content Solutions,
Resolution Media).
As
I write this another session is underway on Affliate
Lead Generation Best Practices. The business
day will conclude with a one-hour Sponsor
Showcase in which representatives from the
top DOMAINfest Global sponsors will each have
five minutes to talk about their services. I'll
have more on the the day's closing sessions, as
well as tonight's social events, in tomorrow's
post, along with photos and highlights from the
first sessions of Wednesday's day two. Tonight's
main event will be Sedo's Opening Night
Dinner Networking Reception, hosted by CEO Tim
Schumacher in his final night in that
position, at a popular local restaurant, Monsoon.
After the Sedo party, DomainAdvisors.com
is hosting a late night party on the 6th floor
of the Shangri-La Hotel (on Ocean
Boulevard, one block south of the Fairmont
Miramar). Rumor has it that
InternetTraffic.com's Vern Jurovich (and
possibly others) may have their heads shaved
during this event to raise funds for The
Water School. The outcome will
likely hinge on how much money generous guests
are willing to pledge to see a bald version
of one (or more) of their friends! If it happens
I plan to be there to get the photographic
evidence for you.
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